5G for Mission-Critical Communications
Mission-Critical Communication Services (MCx) have traditionally relied on narrowband technologies such as TETRA, TETRAPOL and P25. While the introduction of 4G LTE has enabled richer capabilities beyond traditional push-to-talk services, the transition towards 5G Standalone (5G SA) offers new possibilities for highly reliable, low-latency and data-intensive mission-critical communications. However, deploying MCx over public 5G SA networks remains challenging due to the complexity and cost of guaranteeing sufficient capacity, reliability and service continuity, particularly during high-demand situations, network failures and emergencies.
In Luxembourg, these challenges are particularly relevant as advanced mission-critical services evolve from the current 4G LTE and 5G Non-Standalone environment towards full 5G SA capabilities. 5G-CRICO builds on the complementary expertise and previous activities of LIST and POST in 5G/6G, network resilience, security, optimisation and experimentation.
5G-CRICO addresses these challenges by combining standards analysis, network optimisation, simulation and real-world experimentation. The project will:
A key innovative aspect is the connection between theoretical optimisation, predictive simulation and practical validation. Rather than evaluating new strategies exclusively through simulation, 5G-CRICO aims to progress towards experimentation and real-world use cases on a public 5G SA network. LIST leads the project's research on network optimisation and resilience and the development of the simulation environment, including capacity planning, dynamic resource allocation and strategies for maintaining essential services under degraded network conditions.
The project will help prepare Luxembourg for the next generation of critical communications by providing POST and other stakeholders with methods and tools to assess 5G SA configurations before large-scale investment and deployment.
The simulation environment could subsequently support MNOs and third parties in evaluating network resilience and mission-critical services, while the experimental results will contribute to the development of POST's future MCx portfolio.
For LIST, the project will strengthen scientific expertise and demonstrators in next-generation wireless communications and facilitate the transfer of research results towards industrial applications.
Start date | 1 Mars 2025 | |
End date | 31 May 2028 | |
Duration | 39 Months | |
Keywords | 5G Standalone (5G SA); Mission-Critical Communications (MCx); Network Resilience; Network Optimisation; Network Slicing; 5G Simulation; Critical Communications
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Funding Framework | FNR - Ministry of Economy | |
Call | Joint call 5G Communication Technologies 2023 | |
This work is supported by the Luxembourg National Research Fund (FNR) under the convention: 5G BRIDGES/2023-Phase2/IS/19106399/5G-CriCo. |
